Many different siding materials, including wood, concrete, brick, aluminum, stucco, wood composite and cement are currently available for covering the exterior of buildings. Although wood is one of the most popular siding materials, it is costly, flammable, subject to expanding/contracting and comes from a constantly diminishing resource. Aluminum is also a popular siding material, but it is costly, subject to expanding/contracting and is easily deformed. Brick and stucco are somewhat less popular siding materials, but they, too, are costly and labor-intensive to install. On the other hand, cement siding is non-flammable, weather-proof, and not subject to rotting or infestation because it is made from cement, silica sand and cellulose. Thus, it is highly desirable to use cement siding to cover the exterior of buildings.
Although cement siding has many positive characteristics, and it has been available for use as a siding material since before 1900, it has enjoyed only relatively modest success because it is expensive and difficult to cut. Cement siding is generally cut either by using a saw with an abrasive wheel, or by scoring it with a device having a carbide tip and then snapping it along the score line in a manner similar to a tile cutter.
Cutting cement siding using a saw generates large amounts of dust which is inconvenient and creates an unpleasant work environment. Cutting cement siding with a saw is also economically inefficient because it is time-consuming and the saw blades wear out quickly. Cutting cement siding by scoring it with a carbide tip and then snapping it along the score line is also time-consuming and does not result in a clean, sharp edge along the cut. Therefore, in light of the positive characteristics of cement siding, it would be desirable to develop a tool for cutting cement siding that is quick, significantly reduces the amount of dust and creates a clean, sharp edge along the cut.